A BIOMA FIGURE
207
(PAPUAN GULF, PAPUA NEW GUINEA)
A BIOMA FIGURE
carved wood with red and white pigments
40.5 cm height
Estimate:
$500 - 700
Sold for $960 (inc. BP) in Auction 32 - 27 November 2013, Melbourne
Provenance
Private collection, Melbourne, collected in New Guinea in the 1960s
Catalogue text
These energetic and symmetrical silhouette carved sculptures are known as Bioma figures. They are spirit images and form part of a large presentation of objects in men's ceremonial houses in the Papuan Gulf. The sculptures give us a glimpse of how the people imagined the appearance, form and character of the spirits.